Seven BCI riders represented us in Iowa this year for the Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa-----Penny Poorman, Linda Crown, Norm Moyer, Mary Corrough, Pam and Bill Clark, and Rhonda Larson.
For those of you who do not know about this ride, it is the largest organized ride in North America and probably in the entire world. There are more than 10,000 riders who sign up for this ride and thousands more who do not sign up for it and do it anyway. The ride is always the last week in July, and moves west to east, with the route varying each year through the north, central and southern parts of the state. We average around 70 miles per day with always climbing involved. Imagine any blue BCI ride and double it.
Iowa is a great state to ride through in case you have doubts. There are many scenic back country roads to experience with NO traffic, NO stoplights or stop signs, NO glass and debris on the roads. The ride is very organized with state troopers directing riders when there is a turn, so that it is virtually impossible to get lost or to make a wrong turn.
What’s unusual about this ride compared to other rides is the attitude of the entire state towards bicyclists---they LOVE US. The residents sit on their front lawns and wave to us; the towns’ people decorate their towns; there are welcoming committees that greet us when we enter and hand us free water, bananas or other things. We are applauded (as it should be)! In the evening there is usually music and other entertainment, and, of course, for those who want it, there are the beer gardens. The towns supply shuttle buses to and from the campsites so that the riders can explore them.
However, RAGBRAI is not for the faint of heart. Sometimes there is weather to contend with or hills. This year we did 17,350 feet of climbing, and it seemed to me all of it was the first 3 days. There are no great mountains to climb but an endless supply of lush, green rolling hills. We did have a crackling thunder and lightening storm that sent some us to the local school for the night in case things got out of hand.
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Port-a-potties, communal showers, stuffy tents, and sometimes noisy campgrounds are quickly forgotten when we roll into the towns and see the homemade pies waiting for us, hear the cheerleaders with cheers welcoming us, and see friendly faces saying that they are happy to see us. At the end of the week, there is a strong sense of accomplishment and some hard, well-developed muscles. There has to be a reason why so many people do this ride and do it over and over again. (This was my 4th time.)
This year we had an added bonus----Lance Armstrong joined us for a day. What a surprise I had when I found out that I beat him into town! (I won’t say what time I left and what time he left.) Along the route that day there were signs that read, “Stop here Lance for water” or “Lance, eat our pie here”. The Iowans were just as excited to see him as we were.
For more information, see the web site www.ragbrai.com |
